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Controlling Mechanical Properties In Thim Multilayer Hydrogels Through Network Structure, Maksim Dolmat
Controlling Mechanical Properties In Thim Multilayer Hydrogels Through Network Structure, Maksim Dolmat
All ETDs from UAB
Polymer thin films possess unique properties, cost-effectiveness, and flexibility, making them vital for enhancing surface functionality. Layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly allows for synthesis of ultrathin polymeric films with precise control over film thickness, material selection, surface chemistry, and responsiveness. Current advancements in LbL assembly focus on understanding film formation and deposition conditions on film’s structure and properties. Covalent cross-linking of physically bonded LbL networks forms multilayer hydrogel networks capable of absorbing large amounts of water. The use of stimuli-responsive polymers has facilitated the advancement of "smart" materials capable of responding to external stimuli. Stimuli-responsive hydrogels exhibit reversible volume changes, making them …
Development And Evaluation Of A Functional Human Cardiac Tissue Equivalent Fabricated From Multi-Lineage Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Derived Cells, Danielle Pretorius
Development And Evaluation Of A Functional Human Cardiac Tissue Equivalent Fabricated From Multi-Lineage Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Derived Cells, Danielle Pretorius
All ETDs from UAB
The human heart is an exceptionally complex muscular organ that is vital for survival. Electrical impulses signal activation of mechanical contractions, pumping blood through the entire body and allowing for oxygen-exchange to occur. Unfortunately, certain disease states or traumatic injuries such as myocardial infarctions hamper the heart’s efficiency and function by damaging its structure. Ideal treatment would allow for the replacement or regeneration of the damaged tissue with cells and material harvested from the patient, thus avoiding the potential for immune rejection. Engineered cardiac tissues fabricated from human induced pluripotent stem cells have shown great promise for restoring function in …
Stimuli Response In Ph And Temperature-Responsive Hydrogels As Probed By Neutron Reflectivity, William Todd Higgins
Stimuli Response In Ph And Temperature-Responsive Hydrogels As Probed By Neutron Reflectivity, William Todd Higgins
All ETDs from UAB
Polymer materials can be used as platforms to incorporate sensing materials, and increasingly the structure and chemistry of polymer chains is exploited in new and novel way and the unique nanoscale properties are studied. Polymers which can be dissolved in water are particularly interesting as primary components or for modifications in biomaterial applications, as many of them can have variable solubility in response to pH, temperature, or other solution conditions. This can allow the formation of microcapsules, for example, which can release drug triggered via specific solution conditions to release chemotherapeutic drug; in comparison to traditional injection or slow-release bulk …
Metal Complexation In Hydrogen-Bonded Microcapsules Of Poly(N-Vinylpyrrolidone) And Tannic Acid For Medical Imaging And Controlled Drug Delivery, Patrick Aaron Alford
Metal Complexation In Hydrogen-Bonded Microcapsules Of Poly(N-Vinylpyrrolidone) And Tannic Acid For Medical Imaging And Controlled Drug Delivery, Patrick Aaron Alford
All ETDs from UAB
Even the most effective and widely used drugs in modern disease treatment can be compromised by low bioavailability and off-target damage which leads to detrimental side effects. Polymeric drug carriers have been developing in recent times with the aim of rendering the therapeutic cargo inert and protecting it from the body’s natural defense mechanisms until arrival at the target site, upon which a specific stimulus will cause the drug to release from the carrier locally. To this end, antioxidant capability in drug carriers can help mediate the cascade of reactive oxygen species that meet injected materials and, in doing so, …
Shaped Stimuli-Responsive Layer-By-Layer Hydrogels For Targeted Drug Delivery, Bing Xue
Shaped Stimuli-Responsive Layer-By-Layer Hydrogels For Targeted Drug Delivery, Bing Xue
All ETDs from UAB
The development of polymeric delivery systems help overcome the intrinsic drawbacks of systemically-delivered therapeutic drugs, such as poor solubility and stability, multidrug resistance, inefficient accumulation in the diseased sites and unexpected toxicity to normal tissues. Polymeric vehicles possessing stimuli-sensitivity can prevent premature drug leakage and enable controlled cargo release. The modification with bioactive ligands aids to the accumulation of carriers in the targeted tissues to locally increase the concentration of therapeutics and decrease off-target toxicity. The manipulation of physical characteristics (e.g. size, shape) is also essential in the design of drug delivery systems since these properties play pivotal roles in …
Poly(N-Vinylcaprolactam) Based Thermoresponsive Nanostructured Materials, Xing Liang
Poly(N-Vinylcaprolactam) Based Thermoresponsive Nanostructured Materials, Xing Liang
All ETDs from UAB
Poly(N-vinylcaprolactam) (PVCL) is a temperature-responsive polymer displaying a low critical solution temperature (LCST) around 30 to 40℃ in aqueous solutions that is close to the human physiological temperature. In addition, compared to other ther-moresponsive polymers, PVCL is nontoxic and biocompatible. In this thesis, we will fo-cus on the synthesis, fabrication and characterization of PVCL-based thermoresponsive nanostructured materials, such as films, hydrogels and block copolymers and their poten-tial applications in biomedical and medical areas. In chapter 2, we report on nanothin multilayer hydrogels of cross-linked PVCL that exhibited distinctive and reversible thermoresponsive behavior. The single-component PVCL hydrogels were produced by selective …
Synthesis Of Ph-Responsive Multilayer Hydrogels And Amphiphilic Block Copolymers, Yun Wang
Synthesis Of Ph-Responsive Multilayer Hydrogels And Amphiphilic Block Copolymers, Yun Wang
All ETDs from UAB
The research presented in this thesis is focused at the design and fabrication of pH-responsive layer-by-layer (LbL) hydrogels and the synthesis of the ABA block copolymer poly(2-methyloxazoline)-block-poly(dimethylsiloxane)-block-poly(2-methyl-oxazoline) (PMOXA-b-PDMS-b-PMOXA). Ultrathin stimuli-responsive layer-by-layer hydrogels, as compared to bulk hydrogels, can respond to external stimuli in a short time range (usually within seconds) which renders them particularly useful in sensing. Moreover, layer-by-layer technique allows the hydrogel film to be deposited with controlled thickness growth. However, the fabrication of LbL hydrogels with controllable cross-linking density and swelling degree still remains challenging. In chapter two, novel pH-sensitive LbL hydrogels based on poly(4-vinyl pyridine) (P4VP) were …